Still hoping for a return to glory

Raiders

The Raiders should remove their helmets in a moment of silence, and bow their heads at the playing of a lonely bugle, for the darkest chapter in the franchise turns 100 games old today.

When the Raiders play the Texans at Reliant Stadium, it will mark their 100th game since the beginning of their current end - a 48-21 crusher to the Buccaneers in Super Bowl XXXVIII, Jan. 26, 2003.

They've won 25 games since. They've lost 74 games. No victory today will keep this from being remembered as the worst 100-game run in the history of the National Football League.

Never before has a team fallen so relentlessly from such a phenomenal perch. They went 33-15 with an AFC West-winning trifecta the previous three seasons. They were a Tuck Rule short of making the AFC championship game each time.

Remember those glorious days? Not Nnamdi Asomugha. He came to Oakland right after the Super Bowl loss. Like teammates Sam Williams and Justin Fargas, an NFL-record six straight seasons of 11-plus losses is all he's known.

"When I was drafted, I looked at the team that drafted me and said, 'Wow, this is a team full of Hall of Famers and all-stars,' " Asomugha said. "They just came from the Super Bowl and it looks like we're going right back.

"You never imagine that you're going to be winning four games a year every year. You're expecting to lose four games a year. So definitely a shock."

Shock? Oh, there's been plenty of that to go around. Just ask the five coaches who have overseen this run.

Bill Callahan called the Raiders the "dumbest team in America" and was fired one season after reaching the Super Bowl. Norv Turner cried over a game ball in 2005 and was fired after never winning again.

Art Shell was ousted (again) after a 2-14 tango with an Idaho bed-and-breakfast mayor. Lane Kiffin was canned after FedEx delivered a "Dear Lane" letter in 2008.

Next up is Tom Cable, who already owns a 5-10 stake in this unmitigated disaster. Not unlike the others, he is convinced to the utmost the corner is there for the turning.

"You guys can write what you want, but we're right on the brink of getting this thing going," Cable said, and that was after a horrifying 23-3 loss to the Broncos last week. "I believe it, I see it."

So can Raiders owner Al Davis, who has gone 25 years and counting without a new Super Bowl ring. Davis and five players are the only ones to survive the past 100 games from start to merciful finish.

These past six-plus seasons hurt like nothing before, Davis has said. Every new coach is the one who will time-travel Davis back to the old days, he believes.

Just win, baby. He's begging you.

"Look, we want to win," Davis said before the season. "We're going to get players, we're going to win. We're pretty good.

Raiders (1-2) at Texans (1-2)

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Raiders CB Chris Johnson vs. Texans WR Andre Johnson: Andre Johnson's Pro Bowl march to 1,575 receiving yards came to a near standstill when he had two catches for 19 yards at Oakland in December. Pro Bowl cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha said Andre Johnson hardly lined up against him. Rather, it was the less heralded Chris Johnson who shut down the better known Johnson of the two. Chances are, the Raiders will keep Asomugha on the right side as opposed to letting him shadow the Texans' star. We'll see how the Johnson & Johnson rematch works out for them.

Final word: Andre Johnson wants to line up against Asomugha just one time, if only to get the newly rich superstar to autograph a loan document. "Yeah, I asked him to borrow a million dollars when he signed his new deal, gave him a phone call," Johnson said.